Graduate-level students' social presence experience in online classes: A qualitative descriptive design

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive design study was to understand how graduate-level students enrolled in online classes at a small Christian university in the Midwest described their social presence experience as operationalized in the various components of Whiteside's social presence model (affective association, community cohesion, instructor involvement, interaction intensity, and knowledge and experience). The theoretical framework appropriate for this study was the concept of social presence as it relates to the community of inquiry framework. The two research questions focused on how graduate-level students described their social presence experience and how they described what social presence is and looks like in online classes. The research questions were answered by using a purposive sampling technique to select participants. Semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions were conducted with 13 graduate-level students enrolled in online classes at a small Christian university in the Midwest. Using MAXQDA and Braun and Clarke's thematic data analysis, the researcher organized, coded, and analyzed the data. The researcher deductively coded existing themes already present as reflected in the five factors of Whiteside's social presence model, and inductively determined emerging themes such as Comparison to In-Person Learning, Next Steps, COVID, Personality Type/Learning Style, Judgment of Social Presence, and Suggestions for Teachers. The researcher suggested the implementation of videoconferencing tools and the exploration of correlations between personality type and/or learning style with the perceptions of social presence experiences in online classes. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)